Airbus sees A340 becoming more marginalised in future

By Mary Kirby

Airbus says the A340 is "not dead", but it sees the four-engined widebody playing a more marginalised role in its portfolio as time goes by and take-up of the new A350 twinjet continues.

Production of the original A340-200/300 ended last year with the delivery of the 246th aircraft. Sales of the larger, Rolls-Royce Trent 500-powered A340-500/600 continue to struggle, with the six new orders taken last year offset by 10 cancellations. The firm order backlog stands at just 22 aircraft.

"The A340 is not dead," said Airbus head of leasing and investor marketing Mark Pearman-Wright, responding to a question at the ISTAT air transport conference in Phoenix last month.

He acknowledged that the quad-jet "will become a little bit more marginalised as time goes on", adding that Airbus had "taken the decision to replace the A340 with the A350".

© Jonathan Hordle/Rex Features